The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Religion

Abstract

Abstract Religion has been a subject of study for centuries, with scholars approaching this topic from a plethora of perspectives. Applying an evolutionary perspective to the study of religion represents a relatively new approach, and yet the last few decades have seen an impressive collection of hypotheses developed and empirical findings gathered from this perspective. Given the multiple facets and overall complexity of religion, these theoretical and empirical contributions are disparate and even isolated from one another. Some researchers have focused on the cognitive systems and mechanisms that produce religious thoughts and behaviors, others on examining possible adaptive (or maladaptive) functions that religion may serve, and still others on the evolutionary history of specific organized religions and the interaction between evolved psychological mechanisms and the development of specific religious beliefs and behaviors. The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Religion offers a comprehensive and compelling review of research in religious beliefs and practices from an evolutionary perspective on human psychology. The chapters explore a number of subtopics within one of three themes: (1) the psychological mechanisms of religion, (2) evolutionary perspectives on the functionality of religion, and (3) evolutionary perspectives on religion and group living. This handbook unites the theoretical and empirical work of leading scholars in evolutionary psychology, religious studies, cognitive science, anthropology, biology, and philosophy to produce an extensive and authoritative review of this literature, summarizing existing work and serving as a guide to the problems that remain to be solved and the debates that remain to be resolved.